Palais des Congrès de Montréal Wins Prestigious International Innovation Award For Its Urban Agriculture Lab

Palais des Congrès de Montréal Wins Prestigious International Innovation Award For Its Urban Agriculture Lab

The Urban Agriculture Lab of the Palais des congrès de Montréal (CNW Group/Palais des congrès de Montréal)

MONTRÉAL, July 5, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - The Palais des congrès de Montréal was presented with the prestigious AIPC Innovation Award on July 4, 2017 at the AIPC International Association of Convention Centres Annual Conference in Sydney, Australia. The Palais was recognized for its Urban Agriculture Lab and its innovations in sustainable development. The Lab was among the 16 convention centre entries shortlisted for the award. "We are proud of the sustainability leadership role we play within the industry through our tangible actions. By opening the Urban Agriculture Lab in tandem with partners like the Laboratoire sur l'agriculture urbaine (AU/LAB) and Ligne Verte, the Palais is fostering experimentation with new rooftop urban farming technologies and practices, and in the process, is also reducing heat islands in the city's downtown core," declared Raymond Larivée, President and CEO of the Palais des congrès de Montréal.

The AIPC Innovation Award recognizes excellence in convention centre management by showcasing initiatives that represent innovation, namely through the development of a new, more creative or more effective approach to any aspect of convention centre management, operations or marketing. The Palais des congrès was the Overall Innovation Award Winner as selected by the committee, while the Cairns Convention Center was the Innovation Award Delegates' Choice – it won for a promotional item made from steel recovered from their old roof.

Raymond Larivée (right), President and CEO of the Palais des congrès de Montréal, at the July 4 AIPC Annual Awards Dinner, in Sydney, Australia. (CNW Group/Palais des congrès de Montréal)

"We have an immense rooftop surface right in the heart of the city, and we knew that by working with environmental experts, we could make a positive contribution by repurposing this vast space. Scientists, engineers, crop farmers, bee farmers, managers and a host of other specialists worked together with the Palais' building management team to make this project happen, which we believe will inspire other property owners to do the same," mentioned Chrystine Loriaux, the Palais des congrès Director of Marketing and Communications.

According to Eric Duchemin, AU/LAB's Scientific Director: "Partnering with the Palais des congrès on the Laboratory initiative will make it possible to broaden our knowledge of the challenges and constraints associated with rooftop farming, but it will also serve to build rooftop farms, in Montréal and abroad." The project is part of CRETAU, a network created in collaboration with the Québec Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, which focuses on urban farming research and expertise, and the transfer of urban farming best practices.

In 2016, the Palais des congrès de Montréal became the main showcase in Québec for experimenting with and advocating for urban farming technologies and techniques, when it opened its Urban Agriculture Lab jointly with AU/LAB, an organization associated with the faculty of science and institute of environmental studies at Université du Québec à Montréal. The Urban Agriculture Lab includes:

• Culti-VERT, a technological showcase for green roofs and container gardening;
• Three pollinating beehives; and
• VERTical, an urban agriculture project driven by new vertical farming technology that is based on free-standing structures equipped with experimental wall tarps.

The various components of the Palais Urban Agriculture Lab are primarily tasked with:

• Helping reduce urban heat islands and improving air quality in the Montréal downtown area;
• Encouraging the real estate industry and property owners to adopt concrete steps toward greening their rooftops;
• Promoting Montréal's reputation as a world-class city firmly committed to fostering urban sustainability; and
• Enabling convention participants and the Maison du Père homeless shelter to benefit from the crops grown, with the help of Capital Catering, the Palais' exclusive caterer.

About the AIPC
The International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC) represents convention and exhibition centre professionals and managers worldwide. In addition to recognizing convention centre management excellence, the AIPC also provides resources and programs that foster striving for the highest industry standards through research, networking and education.

About the Laboratoire sur l'agriculture urbaine
The Laboratoire sur l'agriculture urbaine (AU/LAB) is a centre for urban agriculture research, training, innovation and activities designed to serve the community and act as a rallying hub for organizations and individuals devoted to urban farming. A non-profit, AU/LAB is also a national and international discussion and action forum for issues related to urbanism and food. With its extensive expertise, AU/LAB fosters emerging ideas, initiatives and businesses focused on the production, processing, distribution and marketing of urban agriculture. AU/LAB is actively involved in the development of urban food systems, viable urbanism and circular economies in cities.

About the Palais des congrès de Montréal
Recipient of the highest quality standards certification in the industry and shortlisted for the World's Best Congress Centreaward (AIPC), the Palais des congrès de Montréal attracts and hosts conventions, exhibitions, conferences, meetings and other events. It generates major tourism revenues and intellectual wealth for Montréal and Québec, while also contributing to the international reputation of Montréal, the top host city in North America for international events. congresmtl.com

SOURCE Palais des congrès de Montréal  

For further information: Source: Chrystine Loriaux, Fellow Adm.A., B.A.A., Director, Marketing and Communications, Palais des congrès de Montréal, Phone: 514 871-3104 ; For information: Amélie Asselin, Advisor, Communications and Public Affairs, Palais des congrès de Montréal, amelie.asselin@congresmtl.com, Phone: 514 871-5897

$4.4 Million Is Being Spent to Protect the Global Seed Vault From Global Warming

 Crop Trust

WRITTEN BY Tom Ward

IN BRIEF

A melting permafrost caused by global warming has raised concerns over the security of the global seed vault. To ensure its integrity, the Norwegian government has pledge to spend $4.4 million on improvements to the structure.

The Global Seed Vault was designed as a back-up plan for humanity in the case of an apocalyptic event. The seeds in its collection would allow future societies to maintain the planet’s botanical diversity while covering the spectrum of nutrition in case no other sources of food were available. 50,000 more seeds were recently added to the collection, but now, climate change is threatening the world’s Plan B.

Click to View Full Infographic

The vault, which is owned by the Norwegian government, was designed to function in a permafrost. However, global warming made 2016 the hottest year on record, and melting permafrost due to the rising temperatures caused water to flood the entrance to the enormous vault, undermining its “failsafe” status.

In response, the Norwegian government has pledged to spend $4.4 million to upgrade the vault. The first $1.6 million will got toward investigating the problem and potential solutions, efforts that will be spearheaded by consultancy firm Dr. Techn. Olav Olsen.

Located in the arctic circle, The Global Seed Vault isn't simply just a large storage facility for seeds from around the world. The vault is protecting the world's agricultural genetic diversity and protecting our future food supply in case of catastrophe.

Current suggestions for future improvements include building an entrance tunnel that slopes upward toward the seed vault to drain water away. For now, the government is attempting to improve the situation by relocating a heat-emitting transformer station inside of the tunnel to decrease thaw, and plans are in place to dig drainage ditches around the complex and build a waterproof wall within it as well.

The silver lining of the situation is that these concerns have arisen at a time when there is still sufficient human infrastructure to repair and plan. Running into these problems post-global disaster would no doubt be much more troubling.

Iowa Agritech Accelerator Announces Teams, Executive Director

Iowa Agritech Accelerator Announces Teams, Executive Director

20 Jun 2017 | Joe Lawler

AgriTech Accelerator executive director, Megan Vollstedt

The Des Moines-based Cultivation Corridor has announced its inaugural cohort of five startups for the Iowa AgriTech Accelerator, as well its permanent executive director, Megan Vollstedt. Vollstedt is taking over from Tej Dhawan of Entrepreneurial Technologies, who served as interim managing director until the executive director was named.

The AgriTech Accelerator is modeled after the Global Insurance Accelerator, with the intent of bringing companies from around the world to central Iowa for the 100-day program starting July 10. The companies receive $40,000 and will give their pitch presentations at the World Food Prize in October.

Meet Megan Vollstedt

The AgriTech Accelerator’s new executive director got involved with the startup community while still a student at Iowa State University in Ames. She interned at Workiva (then called Webfilings), a cloud platform for reporting, compliance and data management.

“I learned what it takes to be in a startup and as the company grew and scaled, so did my role,” Vollstedt said. “Eventually I got to the point where I was a senior editor, managing internal communications. I got to work with the company as it grew and went through a name change, and I’m grateful for those experiences that helped me develop professionally.”

Meet the cohort

WISRAN: A Sunnydale, CA, company that measures time variations of farming activities. WISRAN uses a software platform to increase operation efficiency.

“They’ve got great potential and a great platform,” Vollstedt said. “We think this is a company that will be very successful.”

Pyur Solutions: Based out of Los Angeles, Pyur Solutions is developing non-toxic, plant-based herbicides and pesticides.

“They’re in a really niche market, which is something that’s very attractive in agriculture, but also to retail and homestead outlets,” Vollstedt said. “They’re in a great place to figure out their next step.”

Rabbit Tractors: An Ann Arbor, MI, startup building miniature autonomous farm equipment.

“They’re making really unique machinery equipment, and they’re going to get a lot of value out of working with our mentors here.”

Hintech: Based out of St. Joseph, MO., Hintech has built Decimator, a cornstalk remover and crusher used in no-till farming.

“This is a company that is in a good place in its development to work with our mentors and investment companies,” Vollstedt said.

Phenomics Labs: A Burnsville, MN, startup that makes portable labs with data collection cameras that evaluate plant growth.

“It’s a really interesting product, and the data they collect will show some unique opportunities for growth,” Vollstedt said.

About the Iowa AgriTech Accelerator

The accelerator has a team of 58 mentors from central Iowa companies who are available to the cohort. Investors in the AgriTech Accelerator include Farmers Mutual Hail, Grinnell Mutual, John Deere, Kent Corporation, The Peoples Company, Pioneer and Sukup.

While five teams have been named, applications are still open for the 2017 initial class. Startups may apply on the Agritech Accelerator site.

—

Joe Lawler is a freelance reporter based in Des Moines.

What Makes Urban Food Policy Happen? Insights From Five Case Studies

What Makes Urban Food Policy Happen? Insights From Five Case Studies

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NEW REPORT: What Makes Urban Food Policy Happen? Insights From Five Case Studies

(Brussels / Stockholm: 12th June) Cities are rising as powerful agents in the world of food, says a new report from the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), and they are finding innovative ways to put in place policies that take on challenges in global food systems.

The report, presented today at the EAT Stockholm Food Forum by lead author Corinna Hawkes, Director of the Centre for Food Policy at City University (London), shows that food policy is no longer the domain of national governments alone.

"Cities are taking matters into their own hands to try to fix the food system," said Hawkes. "Hundreds of cities around the world are taking concerted policy action — whether it be to ensure access to decent, nutritious food for all, to support farm livelihoods or to mitigate climate change."

The new report, entitled ‘What makes urban food policy happen? Insights from five case studies’, draws lessons from the ways in which five cities around the world have developed urban food policies:

• Belo Horizonte's approach to food security (Brazil) was one of the first integrated food security policies in the world, and the dedicated food agency within city government has survived for over 20 years.
• The Nairobi Urban Agriculture Promotion and Regulation Act (Kenya) represents a U-turn on long-standing opposition to urban farming from city authorities. The 2015 legislation came on the back of civil society advocacy and a window of opportunity opened by constitutional reform in Kenya.
• The Amsterdam Approach to Healthy Weight (the Netherlands) requires all city government departments to contribute to addressing the structural causes of childhood obesity through their policies, plans and day-to-day working.
• The Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Plan (Canada) involved establishment of an innovative governance body to promote collaboration between local governments within a city region, and other organizations with an interest in the food and farming economy.
• Detroit's Urban Agriculture Ordinance (US) required the City of Detroit to negotiate over State-level legislative frameworks so as to have the authority to regulate and support urban farming, a burgeoning activity in the city.

Although these policies were all developed and delivered in very different contexts, the report's authors identified a number of factors that, time and again, were seen to drive policy forward.

Whether the policies were initiated from the top down or from the bottom up, the cases showed that an inclusive process as the policy moves forward — involving communities, civil society and actors from across the food system — is what matters most, helping to align policies with needs and creating a broad support base to help with implementation.

The examples also showed that even when policies are initially framed around a limited set of priorities, there is much scope for bringing other departments on board and expanding the ambitions along the way.

Identifying the precise policy powers cities can draw on to address the food challenges at hand — and leveraging these powers to the max — also proved crucial in several cases. This meant they could focus resources on areas where change could be achieved most effectively and cheaply.

"The cities we studied were tremendously innovative when it came to harnessing the factors that drive policy forward, and overcoming the barriers," said Hawkes. "They found ways of extending budgets to enable full implementation of the policy, institutionalizing policies to help them transcend electoral cycles, and even obtaining new powers if they did not have the authority to develop and deliver the policy they wanted."

"Sharing these experiences is crucial. Looking at what has been done elsewhere can help cities of all sizes — from small towns that are taking their first steps in designing food-related policy, to big cities that are striving to maintain highly-developed, integrated policies — that are working to improve their food systems".

 

Read The Executive Summary

 

Read The Complete Report Here

In 2002 Organics Alive Was Formed As A Sustainable Bio-Tech Company

In 2002 Organics Alive was formed as a sustainable Bio-tech companyto provide gardeners with another option from toxic chemical fertilizers and to advocate an all-natural, organic and sustainable method of gardening and agriculture.

Our roots began to grow in 1997 with a discovery of a diet fed to Eisinea Fetida Earthworms. Through intensive and costly research we have perfected our worm feed to produce a casting by-product with a high concentration of beneficial, diverse and balanced biology which includes patented levels of chitin and cellulose degraders. We feed our worms a diet that excludes any landscape trimmings, due to its herbicides and pesticides, also excluding any manure or animal waste because of their lack of bio-diversity and certain foods containing GMO or unsubstantial diets. The natural vegetable waste is broken down through a proprietary composting method and finished off with a vermi-composting process. The Earthworms consume tons of waste per hour and secrete a casting by-product (waste) that is rich in beneficial microbes, nutrients, minerals, growth hormones, beneficial enzymes and chitin and cellulose recyclers.

In 2002 Organics Alive was formed as a sustainable Bio-tech company to provide gardeners with another option from toxic chemical fertilizers and to advocate an all-natural, organic and sustainable method of gardening and agriculture. Our method of composting is truly revolutionary and is at the forefront of Green sustainable technology. Organics Alive’ core technology can help achieve solutions to several social, economic and environmental problems afflicting human society one being safe and sustainable food production.

Organics Alive focuses on four main concepts: Crop Nutrient management, Genetics, Crop Management, Crop energy Management.   By addressing these four concepts your garden will be more bountiful, your crops immunity will increase, and fruits will be much richer in profile increasing financial and nutritious value.

The Organics Alive Product line is all natural and certified organic. We provide a variety of soil amendments to create a soil environment for your plants to thrive in. We also provide an in home Bio-Extractor and Mix Kits, which allows you to brew quality Microbial Rich Solution at your own convenience. Our fermentations provide building blocks such as minerals, Amino Acids, humic and Fulvic acids. We extract these elements from Grain, beans and seeds instead of animal byproduct or heavy mining operations that hurt the environment; and finally, our innovative fertilizers which are derived from microbial extracts avoiding animal byproducts, animal waste and contaminated plant sources. They contain no salts, and are made up of Nitrogen, Potassium, Phosphorus, minerals and contain high amounts of carbon; the basic building blocks of life. Organics Alive provides the most effective garden nutrients on the market today!

The team at Organics Alive is passionate and works hard to bring you quality products and real results. Results you can see and truly benefit from. Our group has been mentored by a leading Vermiculture engineer second to none. We have tested our product vigorously with much critique and have been awarded for our patented Bio-Extractor and the Microbial tea it produces.

Our design, construction, and assembly are made in the California. We manufacture and ship through the foundation, “The Arc of San Diego.” We work with locally owned small businesses which creates long lasting jobs in our community. We are proud of our work and the message we convey.

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Plantagon Announces its 40th Approved Patent

Plantagon Announces its 40th Approved Patent

News  •  Jun 16, 2017 10:18 GMT

Plantagon World Food Building in Linköping. Standard Patent Certificate for Australia. The uPot

Developing and expanding the Intellectual Property Portfolio is an important corporate strategy for the Sweden based innovation company Plantagon International, with recent patents granted in the US, China and Australia.

"R&D and the resulting technological innovations are the principal factors for Plantagon International’s business success. Plantagon International’s innovation strategy involves benefiting from technological innovations by using the full range of intellectual property rights in the development of urban agriculture”, says Owe Petersson, CEO of Plantagon.

The company’s most recent patents are: in the USA: Methods and arrangements for growing plants; in China: The uPot; and in Australia: Building for cultivating crops in trays. There are still 28 pending patents.

"It is with great pleasure I follow the progress of the Plantagon Intellectual Property Portfolio. Pending patents get granted without major objections from local patent authorities. This means our inventions have inventive step, novelty and usefulness", says Joakim Rytterborn, Research & Development Manager at Plantagon.

Four patent families

Plantagon currently has filed for patents within four patent families:

1. Conveying system, tower structure with conveying system, and method for conveying containers with a conveying system
2. Building for cultivating crops in trays, with conveying system for moving the trays
3. Method and arrangement for growing plants
4. Pot device and method related thereto

Asia

Last year Singapore, as the first country, granted a patent from Plantagon’s fourth patent family, the uPot, and this year this patent for the uPot was granted in China. The uPot solves the problem with spacing the plants during growth. This by an adjustable distance ring, which enables spacing in two dimensions and hence is about 20 percent more effective than other methods on the market.

Africa

Recently Plantagon also was granted its first ARIPO Patent (African Regional Intellectual Property Organization). Regarding this Mats Lundberg CEO of Sweden’s oldest IP-firm Groth says:

“Plantagon is a company in the very forefront in terms of both innovation and IP. This recently granted patent is further evidence of this. Africa, for example, is a continent often overlooked when companies strive for global IP protection. But it is an emerging market important to consider. Also, thanks to the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization, ARIPO, foreign companies can now apply for a unified patent in a cost-efficient way in 19 African states.”

"Plantagon started with an idea from a Swedish gardener. If you have any great ideas that will make the world a better place, join Plantagon and develop them together with us,” says Joakim Rytterborn.

---

Plantagon International is a world-leading pioneer within the field agritechture and social entrepreneurship – combining urban agriculture, innovative technical solutions and architecture – to meet the demand for efficient food production within cities; adding a more democratic and inclusive governance model. We see global corporate governance, food security and sustainable food production as among the most critical areas for the future of our planet. Plantagon’s objective is to inspire a value change for survival and meet the rising demand for locally grown food in cities around the world, minimizing the use of transportation, land, energy and water. www.plantagon.com & www.plantagon.org

The First Online Marketplace That Connects Buyers and Sellers

For The Fresh Produce Industry Worldwide

The First Online Marketplace That Connects Buyers and Sellers

"We are a new company that was founded six months ago and we already have more than 800 companies from all over the world involved in the fresh fruits and vegetables sector," said Elena Molinaro, from Fruitsapp. 

Until now, the way to communicate with other sellers, buyers, and merchants had been through telephone calls, emails, and faxes. "This is costly and inefficient because there is no quick way to reach all the buyers and producers in the world to compare options," said Elena. "However, we can solve this problem. Through our platform, you can have access to a global market and get to know other companies around the world," she said. 

This website also provides the possibility to sell the products more quickly through an innovative 'Hot Offer' service. FruitsApp, notifies other web users who may be interested in those products. Producers and buyers are connected through algorithms and Artificial Intelligence, which unite them according to their common interests. 

For example, if you have avocados to sell, you register for free on the platform and once you are registered you can include your interests. The algorithms will then look for other companies that are interested or that are looking for avocados and an interactive map indicating that you have a match with a company will appear in your personal profile. Then, users can contact the company by clicking on it and entering their profile. If you are an avocado vendor, you can directly send your offer to all potential clients, such as wholesalers, importers, exporters, and supermarkets around the world that already use the platform.

The security system checks all companies that are registered to avoid fraud, in addition, at the time of registration, they verify that the company is real, that it can guarantee its transactions, and that their products meet the minimum quality requirements through Global GAP or HACCP certificates. 

Currently, the greatest difficulty is modernizing a traditional sector through new technologies. Fortunately, the new generations are helping this change a lot, as they are more used to using these types of innovative platforms and Applications. 

The registration is totally free and the sellers only pay a small commission if they manage to make a sale through the platform. In addition, logistics are integrated and buyers can choose between the logistics proposed by Fruitsapp or the logistics that the seller proposes. 

It also includes a section of advice and forecasts on demand, trends, and prices to help companies optimize their buying decisions.

For more information:
Elena Molinaro
Fruitsapp
T: +393275496390
elena.molinaro@fruitsapp.com
www.fruitsapp.com
 

Plant Based Foods Association Launches New Research and Education Initiative

Plant Based Foods Association Launches New Research and Education Initiative

The Plant Based Foods Association is expanding its reach with an affiliated organization called the "PBFA Research and Education Fund" to determine best practices and conduct outreach to promote plant-based foods.

It’s an exciting time for the plant-based foods industry. This new initiative will allow us to apply best practices to support this growing food sector and reach more consumers.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA (PRWEB) JUNE 14, 2017

Today, the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA), the trade association representing the plant-based foods sector, announced the launch of an affiliated organization called the PBFA Research and Education Fund.

The new non-profit will conduct outreach to retailers to expand shelf space for plant-based foods, as well as help food service directors offer more plant-based options.

“It’s an exciting time for the plant-based foods industry. This new initiative will allow us to apply best practices to support this growing sector and reach more consumers,” said Michele Simon, executive director of the Plant Based Foods Association, who will also lead the new organization.

Board members of the new entity include two board members from PBFA: Jaime Athos, CEO of The Tofurky Company, and Martin Kruger, COO of Follow Your Heart.

Joining them is Julie Mann, global protein program manager at Ingredion Incorporated. “Given my background in plant-based proteins, I am genuinely passionate to contribute my expertise to further the plant-based foods movement,” said Ms. Mann.

In the longer term, the group plans to conduct research projects to determine best practices for merchandising plant-based foods, and understand what drives consumers to purchase more plant-based foods.

"Because the new organization is organized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, we can receive donations and grants from foundations, individuals, and others seeking to support the plant-based movement in an innovative way to help grow the market," Simon added.

The Plant Based Foods Association is a trade association representing 90 of the nation’s leading plant-based food companies. Launched in March 2016, the association engages in policy advocacy and outreach to promote the growing sector of plant-based foods.

The World's Largest Dedicated Showcase of Sustainable Agriculture Innovations

The World's Largest Dedicated Showcase of Sustainable Agriculture Innovations

In 2018 GFIA Europe will be co-located with VIV Europe and Future Food Manufacturing to bring over 29,000 key buyers and decisions makers concerned with smart food production from around the world to Utrecht, the Netherlands.

The world's largest dedicated showcase of sustainable agriculture innovations, GFIA is your platform to do business with thousands of buyers and procurement managers from food producers and growers, agribusinesses, governments and resellers & distributors.

WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM EXHIBITING AT GFIA EUROPE?

Any company that sells solutions for sustainable agriculture. Visitors that want to make their businesses smarter and more productive without damaging our environment or climate.

They want to save water and natural resources, improve soil quality, protect livestock health and increase yields in all areas of food production.

If you can help food producers and growers do that, you should book a stand at GFIA Europe..

GFIA EUROPE REVIEW

Including emerging markets of Egypt, Former Soviet Union, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Russia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, UAE

COMPANIES ALREADY CONFIRMED TO EXHIBIT INCLUDE

THREE MAJOR NEW INITIATIVES FOR 2018

 Co-located with VIV Europe: the European trade show for the international Feed to Meat industry 

 Co-located with Future Food Manufacturing Expo: Europe’s first major international trade fair dedicated to essential sustainable technologies in food processing and production 

 Smart Agri Mechanisation Zone: the latest in connected machinery and digital farm equipment revolutionising precision agriculture will be showcased 

CONTACT:
David Stradling, Sales Director
E: d.stradling@turretme.com | T: +971 (0)2 234 8486 | www.GFIAEurope.com

Urban Agriculture

Urban Agriculture

Image credit: Douglas Gayeton

Urban agriculture pioneers are taking action in their communities, growing not only fresh, healthy produce, but also providing jobs, beautifying their neighborhoods, and offering access to fresh, healthy food in areas where grocery stores are sparse.

As American agriculture continues to grow in new directions, NRCS conservation assistance is growing along with it. NRCS provides technical and financial assistance for assistance for urban growers in areas such as:

• Soil Health
• Irrigation and Water Conservation
• Weeds and Pests
• High Tunnels – NRCS can provide financial assistance for high tunnels, used to extend the growing season and to protect plants from harsh weather, air pollution and pests. By making local produce available for more months in the year, fewer resources are used to transport food to plates. Visit the NRCS High Tunnels website.

Resources:

• USDA Urban Agriculture Toolkit
• Fact Sheet: NRCS and Urban Agriculture (PDF, 4 MG)
• AMS Urban Agriculture Website
• Success Stories

Get Started

Starting an urban farm comes with a unique set of challenges and opportunities. NRCS can help with the challenges of conservation, and support urban farmers in their efforts to achieve local, healthy, sustainable food for their communities.

Start by contacting your local NRCS Service Center.

Success Stories in Urban Agriculture

Learn about urban farmers who have worked with NRCS. Read our stories.

“Stronger and More Resilient,” The Future of CropMobster With Co-Founder Nick Papadopoulos

“Stronger and More Resilient,” The Future of CropMobster With Co-Founder Nick Papadopoulos

Founded as a resource to prevent food waste, the CropMobster network has grown into an online platform for farmers, food activists, and pantries to exchange resources. Designed to “ignite food system crowdsourcing,” CropMobster empowers local leaders to connect communities interested in sharing or trading goods, labor, excess food, events, and news to help end hunger and reduce food waste. CropMobster was established in the in 2013 and has expanded to serve farmers and local food leaders throughout California and the West Coast.

Food Tank interviewed CropMobster CEO and Co-Founder Nick Papadopoulos to learn about the recent additions to CropMobsters’ sustainable food networking platform since Papadopoulos spoke at Food Tank’s 2016 Farm Tank Summit in Sacramento.

Food Tank (FT): Describe CropMobster’s evolution over the last four years. How has CropMobster’s network expanded from its original purpose?

Nick Papadopoulos (NP): For starters, my wife Jess and I had no clue that we’d be hawking and selling shirts like Re-Pear the System and Talk Dirt to Me. CropMobster started on my family’s farm in 2013 as an instant alert and crowdsourcing system. I was in the veggie cooler and saw a few boxes of perfect produce about ready to get chucked, and it drove me insane enough to take action. At that time our singular purpose became one of using technology to rally community members to make sure food at risk of going to waste found a home, either through flash sales and donations or activities like gleaning or bartering.

This food waste prevention focus remains core to our work. However, individuals, small businesses, and nonprofits started using our platform for many purposes and at many scales—from fundraising and jobs to product sales, crowdfunding, sourcing animal feed, and events. What we heard from folks and what we saw in the data was the need to support a range of food system transactions, relationships, and actions. In one typical day, we might help broker five tons of oversized cucumbers for donation, help sell pork for a local pig farmer, find candidates for a non-profit looking for a new operations director, or locate a lawn mower for a community garden.

The next learning [curve] came when we realized that our greatest impacts were occurring when we had local, inspired leaders facilitating the CropMobster exchange in their communities. Sort of like a traditional ombudsperson but with some new gear, we call ourselves Food System DJ’s or Switchboard Operators. Ideally, this position works just as much out in the streets and fields, as behind a screen managing their exchange. But this on-the-ground role in communities is highly interdisciplinary and takes a diverse skillset. We needed to train people to do this work. So we designed CropMobster University, and we began looking for complementary models—like Economic Development Agencies, universities, or Local Food Councils—to partner with us.

This brings us to today, where CropMobster is hungry to partner with bold community leaders like universities or Food System Councils to launch and manage inspired local food networks or community exchanges.

FT: How is CropMobster training and growing local food leaders? In what ways have you seen these local food system Switchboard Operators benefit their communities?

NP: In 2016 we launched CropMobster Sacramento in partnership with an exceptional regional non-profit called Valley Vision. They had received grants from the Wal-Mart Foundation and Bank of America to begin working with CropMobster. Two Valley Vision team members, Robyn Krock and Adrian Rehn, took our training and began working as Switchboard Operators out of their region’s exchange. One day a local gleaning organization called Harvest Sacramento posted that there were 30,000 lbs of watermelons they had the opportunity to glean the next day from a generous farmer’s field. There wasn’t a lot of time. A sizeable volunteer mobilization was needed. Adrian moderated and published the alert but then leveraged his connections and within a few hours over 20 volunteers rallied and gleaned a huge volume of watermelons which Harvest Sacramento delivered to the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services.

As part of the University of California’s Global Food Initiative we have received a multi-year commitment to run CropMobster Mercedin partnership with the University of California Merced Campus. Here’s what leaders in this community are thinking about the potential CropMobster Merced can bring to their community. Members of the Merced Community, like Bill Gibbs, the Executive Director of Merced Food Bank, have commented, “Merced County is one of the most impoverished counties in the state, with at least 35 percent food insecure population. I am thrilled that CropMobster & UC Merced have decided to launch the Merced Community Exchange to serve organizations like ours. With this effort, we anticipate growing our own capacity for impact at the food bank but most importantly helping to grow the capacity of our 100-plus partner agencies who daily need support in meeting the needs of the food insecure.  Whether helping us grow a gleaning program, raise funds, or source food donations, we anticipate that this platform and trained team are going to be a tremendous asset to our Food Bank and our community, and we are grateful.”

FT: How is CropMobster helping form an alternative food system economy? Why is this essential?

NP: I can humbly say that, after facilitating thousands of impacts large and small, it is without a doubt clear to me that local food systems can grow stronger and more resilient by having community-led exchanges guided by trusted, local leaders to support new connections and solutions. There are so many great projects, initiatives, and organizations in each foodshed working on crucial pieces of the puzzle. From food waste reduction to local economic development, having a free shared communication, and an action platform that helps bond these efforts together is something any community can benefit from and needs.

Former Farm Tank Summit Sacramento speaker and CropMobster CEO Nick Papadopoulos explains CropMobster’s growth as a sustainable food movement platform.

FT: Since its founding, how has CropMobster helped reduce and raise awareness of waste in the California?

NP: I think we forget that from a true problem-solving standpoint there are many ways to scale and help drive lasting change. One way—and I think everyone needs to take a big gulp of this one—is to set your ego aside, set an example of action, and generate a powerful story that others learn from and feel inspired by. In this sense, I am honored that the story of Jess and I seeing food go to waste in our community and deciding to act was shared throughout the world in our first few years. From TIME magazine to Central Chinese TV, the story and vision were spread widely. While the CropMobster communities we have running have found a home for millions of pounds of food at risk of going to waste, I think our largest impact has been that our story scaled at just the right time to help spark a wave of innovation, awareness, and action.  

And now, four years since our start, we feel grateful and blessed that our small team has made it through our version of “Survivor” to keep working, driving impact, and supporting communities.

FT: In what ways do the initial goals of CropMobster still guide your work today?

NP: From the get-go, we have had the goal of reducing food waste by driving sales, donations, trading, and making connections. This remains a core part of our values and organizational DNA. But beyond food waste, we also to realize we are wasting a huge amount of human and community potential and leaving a huge reservoir of value on the table for communities to realize.

We also believe in the value of community capacity and relationship building. Each day we wake up thrilled to have the chance to help folks out even in situations where there isn’t a dollar involved but other forms of value like new relationships. It’s our favorite job in the world, and we want to reach everyone who wants to team up. That’s the goal; easier said than done though.

FT: What are your hopes for the future of the CropMobster network?

NP: Each week we get requests for what we do from all over the U.S. and the world. We want to more easily serve these folks and see that these communities get the help they need.

This year we aspire to expand to the entire state of California (and are working to recruit sponsors) and partner with two to four counties or regions to begin expanding to other states and countries. Also we are looking for a trusted, global non-profit organization with a wide reach to team with us to more rapidly expand our reach and fundraising, and with this in place, inspire more donors and social impact investors to take part in this journey.

With a few more pieces and partnerships in place we can more rapidly deploy our technology and educational model to food systems throughout the world, most ideally via regional university partners or local food councils. As mentioned this is a very exciting path because, not only can we help spark immediate food system impact, but also help sprout the next wave of food system leaders.

To learn more about Nick Papadopoulos and CropMobster’s work supporting local foodsheds, listen to his recent interview with the Peak Prosperity Podcast.

ChemChina Completes The Second Settlement of the Tender Offers for Syngenta

ChemChina Completes The Second Settlement of the Tender Offers for Syngenta

June 07, 2017 11:45 AM Eastern Daylight Time

BASEL, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) today announced the successful completion of the Second Settlement of ChemChina’s tender offers for Syngenta. Shareholders who tendered their shares after 4 May 2017 received the consideration of US$465 per share, and holders of American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") who tendered their ADSs received US$93 per ADS, on June 7, 2017. In the First and the Second Settlement, ChemChina acquired 94.7 percent of Syngenta shares in aggregate.

As soon as permitted by law and applicable regulation, it is intended to de-list the shares from the SIX and to de-list the ADSs from the NYSE.

About Syngenta

Syngenta is a leading agriculture company helping to improve global food security by enabling millions of farmers to make better use of available resources. Through world class science and innovative crop solutions, our 28,000 people in over 90 countries are working to transform how crops are grown. We are committed to rescuing land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities. To learn more visit www.syngenta.com and www.goodgrowthplan.com. Follow us on Twitter® at www.twitter.com/Syngenta.

About ChemChina

ChemChina, which is headquartered in Beijing, China, possesses production, R&D and marketing systems in 150 countries and regions. It is the largest chemical corporation in China, and occupies the 234th position among the Fortune Global 500. The company’s main businesses include materials science, life science, high-end manufacturing and basic chemicals, among others. Previously, ChemChina has successfully acquired 9 leading industrial companies in France, United Kingdom, Israel, Italy and Germany, etc. To learn more visit www.chemchina.com and www.chemchina.com/press.

Additional information and where to find it

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell Common Shares or ADSs. The solicitation and offer to buy Common Shares or ADSs was only made pursuant to the Swiss Offer Prospectus and the U.S. Offer to Purchase and other documents relating to the U.S. Offer that were filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO filed by ChemChina and CNAC Saturn (NL) B.V. ("Purchaser") and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 with respect to the U.S. Offer filed by Syngenta. A free copy of these materials and other documents filed by ChemChina, Purchaser and Syngenta with the SEC can be obtained at the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. Free copies of the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement and other documents filed with the SEC by Syngenta can be obtained at www.syngenta.com.

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

Some of the statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, which involves a number of risks and uncertainties discussed in Syngenta’s public filings with the SEC, including the "risk factors" section of Syngenta's Form 20-F filed on February 16, 2017 as well as the U.S. Offer documents filed by ChemChina and Purchaser and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement filed by Syngenta. These statements are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any forward-looking statements. These statements are generally identified by words or phrases such as "believe", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "plan", "will", "may", "should", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue" or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results and the timing of events may differ materially from the results and/or timing discussed in the forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on these statements. ChemChina, Purchaser and Syngenta disclaim any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the period covered by this press release or otherwise.

EAT-Lancet Commission On Their Way To Transform The Food System

EAT-Lancet Commission On Their Way To Transform The Food System

 Food Planet Health was recently launched to showcase news, case studies, data tools, and ongoing research updates from the EAT-Lancet Commission for Food, Planet and Health. The website focuses on the need to transform the food system in order to improve human health and health of the planet.

The EAT-Lancet Commission, a partnership between the EAT Foundation and the Lancet, is delivering the first full scientific review of what constitutes a healthy diet from a sustainable food system, and which actions can support and speed up food system transformation. The results will be presented in The Lancet in Spring 2018. There are 20 EAT-Lancet Commissioners, each of which are experts in the fields of food, health, agriculture, environment, and policy.

The Commission’s areas of expertise are sustainable food, healthy diets, and dietary trends, modelling food systems and developing supporting policies. These working groups are led by prominent researchers, practitioners, academicians, and policymakers from across the world, such as Walter-Willet, Anna Lartey, Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, Johan Rockström, Srinath Reddy, Christopher Murray, Jessica Fanzo, Tara Garnett, and Sunita Narain.

The launch of the website comes just prior to the EAT Food Forum 2017. Last year, Dr. Gunhild A. Stordalen, President of EAT Foundation, acknowledged the challenges of the current agricultural system with respect to the environment, health, and nutrition. Similarly, Johan Rockström, Co-founder of the EAT Foundation reiterated the goal of feeding a population of more than 9 billion in 2050 through sustainable means.

Follow the Commission’s updates and related news on their website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Who’s Really Benefiting From Sustainable Food and Agriculture Technologies?

Who’s Really Benefiting From Sustainable Food and Agriculture Technologies?

By Ariel Lauren Wilson  June 1, 2017

After Obama’s address in Milan, food and ag sustainability experts Danielle Nierenberg and Danielle Gould assess this powerful—and still very young—space.

Uploaded by Seeds & Chips on 2017-05-09.

Editor’s note: We kicked off our first annual Food Loves Tech event last summer in Chelsea—here’s a recap. We’re bringing a taste of the food and farming future back this year, but just across the East River at Industry City. Leading up to the event, this story is part of an ongoing series about technology’s effects on our food supply.

In his first official speech since leaving office, Barack Obama stated a truth that many in the sustainable food and ag worlds have been wanting him to say for years. Last month in front of an elite international cohort of entrepreneurs, investors and thought leaders in the field at the third annual Seeds&Chips in Milan, he publicly acknowledged that climate change will “define the contours of this century perhaps more than any other [modern global challenge],” agriculture and food production are the second largest culprits and, finally, this must change.

As president, Obama’s climate change agenda mostly targeted energy sector regulation. He didn’t dwell too much on government responsibility in Milan, though, despite Trump making headlines that day for delaying his decision on whether or not the United States would keep its Paris climate pact. Obama instead addressed his immediate audience while calling for the empowerment of young activists along with innovation in science and industry to help us reduce emissions and mitigate the present and future issues. “I believe these are problems that were caused by man and can be solved by man,” he affirmed.

So how are those working toward a more sustainable food and ag system doing? Looking at the Seeds&Chips roster as a sign of the times, vertical farming, food waste concepts, improved distribution and a slew of consumer products seemed to dominate. Panels and presentations at the mostly business-to-business conference included a wide swath of timely topics like: “How millennials are changing the food industry,” “The breadth and tools of precision agriculture,” “New and super foods,” “Climate change and the food industry” and “The impact of AI on the food system.” Products like bacon and pasta made from seaweed were riding high.

Although present, there was comparatively very little representation of some of the world’s most vulnerable populations in regard to climate change, and a small amount of the overall programming addressed their needs. Actual farmers were largely missing, too, making it difficult to assess how practical or necessary some of the technologies targeted at them actually are. Thinking about Obama’s remarks, this raises an existential question for these powerful #agtech and #foodtech industry trends: Who are these technologies actually serving?

I discussed this question at the conference with Danielle Gould of Food+Tech Connect and Danielle Nierenberg of Food Tank. The two food and ag sustainability experts shared their critiques, insights and hopes for this promising—and still very young—space.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Danielle Nierenberg is the president of Food Tank. Photo credit: Facebook/Danielle Nierenberg.

Edible Manhattan: What are some of the innovations that you’re seeing at this year’s Seeds&Chips? Anything that’s pushing the food and tech conversation forward?
Danielle Nierenberg: I don’t see anything that I haven’t seen before and you [to Danielle Gould] know this space a lot better than I do. I think a lot of it is building on some tech we’ve seen in the past, and there’s not anything super new, but I would say that this conversation is important because dialogue [about food, agriculture and technology] is needed and more of it.

EM: Do you feel like it’s lacking? If so, what?
DN: I wish there was a greater diversity of people here. Definitely farmers and definitely a Global South perspective [are missing]—just having a few speakers representing these groups is not enough as far as I’m concerned, especially when a lot of this technology could be adapted to be used in those countries. Having the dialogue and having it in Milan is all great—it just could be more diverse.

EM: How about you Danielle (Gould)?
Danielle Gould: I agree. What I love about this conference is that it really brings together entrepreneurs and investors from across the globe that are working on all different kinds of innovations. It’s a great meeting place, and I think that as technology adoption increases and as this industry evolves, one thing Seeds&Chips has the potential to be (and that it will hopefully do) is really reach out to engage more audiences and bring them here.

This is a place where you can learn about these technologies, you can have these in-depth conversations, and I think that it’s the beginning of an exchange of ideas. I think that it can go deeper, and so I’m excited about that since there really isn’t anything that’s like this as far as bringing together such an international group.

There is so much advancement in the United States, but a lot of what I see here is very new and different international companies have new takes on it. For example I just saw a wholesale trading platform for fruits and vegetables. We have a lot of these in the U.S. but this is the first one in Europe. The founder has worked for 10 years in this industry, and they’re doing some really smart things that people in the U.S. aren’t.

From my experience in coming to Italy for food conferences over the years, [Italians, for example] understand food in a much different way and they’re much closer to agriculture. Like once at a festival where I presented on agtech, Italian attendees were like, “Oh, for that platform, how many hectares of land is that? What kind of size farm is that?” I never get those questions in the U.S. so I just think that with a lot of these international communities they are so connected to food and farming that some of the solutions are more interesting even if it is an evolution that’s already kind of gone on in the U.S. The founders are in some cases more informed.
DN: Just to build on that, the other thing that I like is the linking of technology to food policy. Like what’s happening with the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, for example. I think that’s so important.

Danielle Gould is the founder and CEO of Food+Tech Connect. Photo credit: Matt Furman.

EM: Can you describe that a little bit?
DN: So the pact was signed during Expo 2015 by 140 countries signed on to really increase innovation around urban food systems. For their awards (the first ones happened last year), countries and cities submitted really unique ideas to increase access and affordability to build green spaces, do all the things that we want urban agriculture to do, be able to replicate and scale those projects in different ways and serve as examples to other cities and towns. So having the deputy mayor and mayor of Milan here to talk about that is really exciting. [I’m encouraged by] the link between these really concrete, cool innovations and then the policy that they’re helping to reform and replicate elsewhere.

EM: Is there an example of the technologies that they’re using in that way?
DN: A lot of the urban ag and vertical farming stuff for sure. I’ve not seen any specific displays of it here, but it’s similar to Stephen Ritz’s work [Ritz is an educator in the South Bronx and CEO of the Green Bronx Machine]. I don’t think there’s another conference that’s linking the tech to the policy [like Seeds & Chips].
DG: Yeah, definitely not—that’s a really great point.

EM: And so for the technologies that are here, what or who are they serving? Do you think this conference is really good for people who work in the vertical agriculture space, for example?
DG: I think it’s really diverse. You have a lot of hardware and software. You have solutions for restaurants on the technology side, agriculture, distribution, farming, and there are a lot of interesting food products, too. There are people using innovative ingredients and are developing interesting processing technologies that they’re going to end up licensing out, so I think it’s really a very diverse crowd. It’s good for anyone who’s just kind of rethinking food from any perspective. It’s not the place where you’re going to say, like, “Oh, I just created a chia kombucha.” I don’t think it’s good for that, but if you have some very innovative play on a functional beverage, for example.

EM: So like Seamore’s [a seaweed foods company], for example, or the Coffee Flour folks? Like especially foods that have an innovative sustainability angle, including those that use food waste.
DG: There are a lot of products here that are leveraging waste, also called “seconds.”
DN: Do you see that trend continuing?
DG: Yeah, there are so many companies—it’s staggering. Refed [a multi-stakeholder nonprofit committed to reducing U.S. food waste] and their report that just came out said that there are over 400 companies and organizations that are working on food waste. I mean it’s almost to the point where you’re like, “Oh, another company that’s developing a food waste project.” That’s a really good thing.

In the U.S. alone, there are over 400 companies and organizations that are working on food waste. Photo credit: Valery Rizzo.

Joey DeMarco (Food Tank writer also in convo): Why do you think so many of the companies seem to be based out of New York?
DG:  New York was already a food hub. That’s really where the artisanal food movement really got started, and a lot of that happened because people lost their jobs in 2008 and chose to do what they’re passionate about, like cooking more at home and eventually even selling what they made. Concurrently there were more of these marketplaces like the Greenpoint Food Market (it was a really big one before Smorgasburg), where people could sell and convene and test out their products.

On the tech side, I mean, look, I’m not trying to toot our horn but [Food+Tech Connect] started doing a lot of events and programming that was around evangelizing the opportunities for bringing technology and innovation to food. What that helped do is bring more investment because there was a lot of attention, and when there’s a lot of investment, it will grow the industry.

I think also because the media is there, too, it was easier to get them to come cover what was going on. So I think it was a confluence of a couple of different things, but definitely [New York has] an ecosystem. We started building out an ecosystem, and when you have ecosystems, it just enables a lot of great growth. Another place where there’s a really awesome ecosystem is in Israel.

One last one from Seed&Chips. Incredible global response to President Obama's thoughts on the role of food and agriculture in battling climate change.  MAY 12

EM: Switching gears a bit, does either of you feel like the conversation is getting pushed forward in a way that resonates with Obama’s address? By that I mean, do you feel like this food and tech space is promoting technologies that we feel can help mitigate the effects of climate change and make people more resilient? Do you see that here?
DG: I do. I was just walking around the floor and I would say that there are a lot of companies that are very ambitious. In the U.S., there are a lot of companies that are “me too” companies, meaning that people are going after whatever is sexy and wherever there’s a lot of funding—so many delivery companies, so many meal kits, so many juice companies—and I think that there’s a much greater diversity here and the industry’s evolving quite a bit.

We are toward the tail end of the first generation of these companies. Some of the companies that launched like five years ago are getting acquired and there’s a lot of shakeout with so many lessons learned. Companies that started [early on] didn’t have the kind of funding or their customer adoption wasn’t as high and that’s evolved so much.

The fact that you would never be having a conversation about open data with a big company five years ago. It wouldn’t happen, they’d say you’re crazy. Every company now has a fund. They were not investing in start-ups, they were just acquiring them. So the conversation has changed so dramatically, and I think that what it’s doing is that it’s going to enable companies to think more ambitiously.
DN: And I totally agree with that. I hope all sorts of these consumer products will evolve into things that are actually working for farmers. You’ll have those funds that are already created. People won’t be looking to make a million dollars immediately or whatever; they’ll be able to work on different things because the investment’s already there and that frees up so much.

👅🌽It feels like a purple corn flakes type of morning! The organic purple corn we use has more antioxidants than regular yellow corn and even blueberries! . Let us know how you incorporate purple corn flakes in your meal! Looking for suggestions 😏 . . . .

EM: Do you see any early signs of that here? Or even outside of Seeds&Chips, too?
DN: Sort of. I mean I think what I’ve seen over the last seven years since I’ve started traveling and seeing different innovations is that they’ve been very separate; it’s ag innovation and it’s food innovation. What I’m hoping is that there’s some sort of mind meld and investment that gets to the techniques and innovations that are needed for not just farmers in developing countries but farmers in the rural Midwest, for example, who are facing a lot of challenges that they don’t know how to deal with right now.
DG: Back to the Roots is my favorite example of a company [that’s blending food, ag and tech]. The reason that they got into cereals is because they read Dan Barber’s The Third Plate and learned about issues with wheat. They felt the need to create a market for sustainably produced regional wheat and decided to make a product to do so. They decided on cereal, which is actually a dying category. There’s a five-ingredient cereal and it’s all sourced from the U.S. and they’re helping their farmers grow with them. They create partnerships in the supply chain, and that’s a really cool model that I want to see more. New York City schools just got rid of Kellogg’s and replaced them with Back to the Roots and that’s huge.
DN: Yeah, that’s large-scale procurement.

EM: And institutionalizing this change. It’s an important example.
DG: The other thing that’s interesting is that there are some funds like S2G Ventures that are investing in synergistic companies and developing partnerships between the companies that they invest in. So there’s a lot of those sort of interesting opportunities and I think that investors can play a role.

Meatless Monday motivation from @samiray23 enjoying our Spicy Mexi-Cali bowl. Packed with 26g of protein from our grain blend and black beans.

EM: Next year, what do you both hope to see at Seeds&Chips and elsewhere? Where do you hope this food, ag and tech space is moving?
DN: I mean just what I mentioned before: a greater diversity of participants. I think you need more farmers here who can learn from a lot of these innovations. I think we forget that farmers are doing technology in the field every day, they’re just not getting any credit for it. They’re making their own equipment a lot of the time or they’re repairing it in different ways. I think they would benefit from seeing some of these really cool technologies.

EM: And the technologies would benefit from that, too. It’s about participatory innovation.
DN: Yeah, and just being about to have a say in what’s being developed I think is key. Other groups are missing here, too. There’s not a lot of socioeconomic diversity here, for example. It’d be great if there were high school students that weren’t studying at the American school but were studying at a regular school. They’re really privileged kids and they’re great because they’re really well informed, but having more young people here to learn about food and tech means that they can be inspired and figure out what to do in college.
DG: I would agree with everything that Dani said. I would also be more focused on accessibility. I think that throughout the whole industry, there are very few people working on making good food more accessible.

EM: And why do you think that is necessarily?
DG: One thing is that a lot of times people build for both what they know and early adopters. There’s not a lot of clear funding for going beyond this right now.
DN: That’s what I was trying to get at before. I mean once the funding’s there, then you can do these other things.

EM: What can we do about that?
DG: I mean there’s a lot of different for-profit nonprofit models. There are a couple of companies that are doing really interesting things. For example, I love this concept Everytable, which is a restaurant chain in L.A. that has variable pricing based on location. So if you go to one of their spots in Compton, for example, you’ll get a salad for like $4 while if you go in Santa Monica, it’ll be $10. So they are basically subsidizing, and that’s interesting. I also think vending machines are huge.
DN: I’m waiting for that to pop, though. I don’t know how long that’s sustainable. I was hearing about the cooling issues today and the expense of that and that footprint—I don’t know.
DG: But if you think about the footprint of a vending machine versus a corner store or a little bodega…
DN: I mean, you don’t want to put those people out of business either. They can also be culturally significant and important to communities who like going there. You can put the vending machine in the bodega, but I think those cultural things…. Being here in Italy always reminds me of what people are used to and what this might mean to a lot to them, including those interactions that we have at the corner store. I mean [substituting with a vending machine] can change things in ways that you can’t predict.

Des Moines Power Brokers Want to Build Massive Greenhouses Downtown

Des Moines Power Brokers Want to Build Massive Greenhouses Downtown

Joel Aschbrenner , jaschbrenn@dmreg.com

Published 5:40 p.m. CT May 25, 2017 | Updated 10:59 a.m. CT May 26, 2017

A group of business leaders want to build a string of greenhouses on the south side of downtown. They call it the Des Moines Agricultural Corridor.

(Photo: Special to The Register)

New York architect Mario Gandelsonas helped reshape Des Moines when he laid out his vision for the city nearly 30 years ago. That vision ultimately led to the development of the Western Gateway, construction of the Principal Riverwalk and resurrection of the East Village.

Now, Gandelsonas is back in town promoting his latest idea, one he says is equally ambitious.  

A group led by Gandelsonas and local venture capitalist Jim Cownie wants to build a string of massive greenhouses and vertical farms along the railroad tracks on the south side of downtown. They’re calling it the Des Moines Agricultural Corridor. If fully realized, the project would span the length of downtown.

“The dream is all the way from Meredith Corp. to the state Capitol,” Cownie said.

Cownie hopes to get buy-in from local players like Hy-Vee, DuPont Pioneer, MidAmerican Energy and Iowa State University. The urban farms could feed the desire for locally grown food, provide produce for area farmers markets, grocery stores and restaurants, and offer research space for Iowa State students and agriculture companies, he said.

Gandelsonas sees the project as a cultural symbol. It would provide the urban core with a link to the state’s farming roots and showcase Des Moines as a hub for innovative agriculture, he said.

“The idea is not just to build a greenhouse,” he said. “The idea goes deeper than that. It relates to identity, to health, to education. So it is really a grand idea.”

Far-fetched? Maybe. 

At this point, the Des Moines Agricultural Corridor is little more than an idea. No land has been acquired. No money has been raised. And it’s unclear who would own and operate the indoor farms.

Cownie thinks it could take 20 years and tens of millions of dollars to complete.

But after working behind the scenes for a few years, Cownie and Gandelsonas are beginning their campaign to drum up support.

They've pitched it to local companies. Officials from MidAmerican and Hy-Vee told The Register they're listening but they've made no commitments. 

Cownie and Gandelsonas held meetings Wednesday and Thursday with City Council members and other power brokers.

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Mario Gandelsonas shows plans for the Des Moines Agricultural Corridor, a string of massive greenhouses on the south side of downtown Des Moines. Gandelsonas, a New York architect, and a group of local business leaders are trying to drum up support for the idea. (Photo: Joel Aschbrenner/The Register)

In Cownie’s penthouse office overlooking the East Village on Wednesday, Gandelsonas explained to Councilwoman Christine Hensley how the greenhouses, lit with bright colors, would create a “river of light” visible to people flying into the city.

Hensley, Des Moines’ longest serving city council member, whose ward includes downtown, said she would be apt to support the project if the greenhouses operated as a for-profit entity that pays property taxes.

“The city has demonstrated that if we get the right people behind projects such as this, there is no question we will get it done,” she said.

The goal is to start with one half-acre greenhouse. Those involved said they don't know the exact cost. Ballpark: $5 million.  

Cownie thinks the best location is a piece of city-owned land near 12th and Mulberry streets, on the southwest side of downtown.

A group of local business leaders is promoting the idea of building a string of massive greenhouses along they railroad tracks on the south side of downtown Des Moines. The idea, called the Des Moines Agricultural Corridor, is the brainchild of Mario Gandelsonas, the New York architect who created the vision for several Des Moines redevelopment projects including the Western Gateway and the Principal Riverwalk. (Photo: Special to The Register)

The first step, Cownie said, would be to come to an understanding with city leaders. He wants the city to challenge him to raise the money for the first greenhouse, and if he does the city, in return, would offer the land for free.

“We need to demonstrate to the city that it would be good public policy to make available the site to start this process,” he said.

If the first greenhouse is a successful model, it could be replicated down the railroad corridor on undeveloped sites.

Cownie hesitated to put a timeframe on the project — he’s been burned by such promises in the past — but others involved in the proposal said they want to harvest crops within five years.

More: 13 of downtown Des Moines' craziest ideas – good and bad

The project will depend on acquiring land. Most of the property along the rail line is privately owned.

That includes land where Cownie has a stake. He recently partnered with the city to offer five square blocks on the east bank of the Des Moines River as a site for a new federal courthouse. It is one of four proposed courthouse locations and includes several blocks for private development.

Gandelsonas said the greenhouses would make nearby properties more valuable by providing a buffer between the rail line. His plan also calls for a pedestrian corridor along the greenhouses with a recreational trail and landscaping.

The idea is not entirely new. Gandelsonas pitched a farming corridor nearly 10 years ago during a city planning process. The original idea was an avenue of outdoor crops stretching across downtown to showcase Iowa agriculture.

Mario Gandelsonas in Des Moines in 1989. A New York architect, Gandelsonas helped create a vision for the city that led to the create of the Western Gateway and the Principal Riverwalk. (Photo: Register file photo)

Among movers and shakers in Des Moines, Gandelsonas has a fervent  following. The Argentina-born, Paris-educated architect came to city in the late 1980s and helped craft the Des Moines Vision Plan, a blueprint for revitalizing the city.

Over the years, he has proposed some of the city’s most audacious projects.

One idea called for massive apartment complexes built in the shape of letters on the north side of downtown. He also dreamed of carving back the Des Moines River banks so City Hall and the World Food Prize would stick out on peninsulas.

But Gandelsonas is also credited with some of the city's biggest successes. He had the vision to demolish roughly 10 blocks of aging buildings and car dealerships on the west side of downtown to make room for a park. The project drew scoffs from skeptics and backlash from preservation advocates, but the development of the Western Gateway ultimately led to the construction of the Pappajohn Sculpture Park and hundreds of millions of dollars of office development from Nationwide, Wellmark and Kum & Go.

Asked if the Des Moines Agricultural Corridor is even more ambitious, Gandelsonas said: “It feels as impossible as the idea for Gateway Park... It is quite an undertaking, but I view it as important to accomplish this.”

Why now?

Jim Cownie (Photo: Register file photo)

Cownie, 72, and Gandelsonas, 78, say they’re getting older so it’s now or never.

And downtown has the momentum to support it, Gandelsonas said.

It also helps that a compatible idea is gaining steam. Iowa State officials and local business leaders are working on a proposal to create a year-round, indoor market inside Kaleidoscope at the Hub, an aging downtown shopping center.

Iowa State’s Courtney Long, who is overseeing the idea, said the greenhouses could provide produce for the indoor market and collaborate in other ways. Long has been meeting with the greenhouse backers for about a year to discuss the project.

“I think it’s interesting and unique," she said. "There is nothing like it."

To lead the greenhouse effort, Cownie is considering Bill Menner, a consultant who recently served as a state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A group of local business leaders is promoting the idea of building a string of massive greenhouses along they railroad tracks on the south side of downtown Des Moines. The idea, called the Des Moines Agricultural Corridor, is the brainchild of Mario Gandelsonas, the New York architect who created the vision for several Des Moines redevelopment projects including the Western Gateway and the Principal Riverwalk. (Photo: Special to The Register)

Menner said there could be USDA grants or government loans available for the Des Moines Agricultural Corridor.

And there are good models to learn from, he said. A group in Cleveland recently opened a 3.25-acre urban greenhouse, though it sits in a more industrial area, not in the heart of downtown.

Menner sees the greenhouse development as a way to bridge the urban-rural divide that has grown amid water lawsuits, bitter politics and rural population loss.

“By placing urban agriculture in the center of a metropolitan area, you’re actually building a bridge to the producers and the folks who make a living (in agriculture) while at the same time creating access to locally grown foods,” he said.

The Future of British Farming: Accentuate The Technology and Eliminate The Subsidy

The Future of British Farming: Accentuate The Technology and Eliminate the Subsidy

MAY 31, 2017 RICHARD FERGUSON

Editor’s Note: Richard Ferguson is founder of Ferguson Cardo, an agribusiness consultancy and research group in the UK. With several years experience in the industry working for groups such as PwC and Renaissance Capital, Ferguson recently wrote a new report on the future of UK agriculture in the wake of Brexit. Here he offers some key insights from that report.

Richard Ferguson

The future of British agriculture lies not in an annual £3 billion infusion of inefficient subsidies and misallocated capital via the Common Agricultural Policy, the European Union’s farm subsidy programme. Rather, the UK has the potential to re-pivot, refocus and redeploy its capital and energies towards the nation’s value-added agricultural technologies and cutting-edge science capabilities. This transformation will allocate capital efficiently and bring wide-ranging social and economic benefits across the UK economy. It may also redefine the country’s objectives in trade, aid and economic diplomacy.

To feed a world of some 10 billion people, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), almost 77% of the additional output from farming will come from intensification and higher yields; only 20% will come from increased farming area. In other words, farming output growth in the future depends critically on the greater use of agricultural technologies, ranging from equipment to genetics.

The possibility of a Brexit-driven reconfiguration of the UK’s food and agricultural sector suggests that a period of significant transformation and structural adjustment lies ahead. Set against an industry already in the midst of rapid technological displacement, value-chain disruption and regulatory change, a transformative event such as Brexit appears to add to existing uncertainty.

However, while the potential institutional, financial and operating frameworks that will arise from Brexit suggest a wide range of possible outcomes, the process, if mapped successfully, can be a positive one. The UK’s current position is not unique. In the 1980s, the government of New Zealand instigated a reform programme to transform the country’s food and agriculture sector, the results of which were immediate and painful as well as long-term and beneficial.

At the core of the transformation that shook New Zealand’s agriculture sector in the 1980s and 1990s was a pressing need to access new markets in the face of external economic shocks and structural adjustments, such as the UK’s decision to join the then European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973. While there are obvious direct parallels between the New Zealand case study and Brexit, both situations remain distinct and unique. However, we would contend that an agenda focused on long-term goals can deliver significant economic and social benefits even if they come with considerable short-term costs. The battle about to commence is set to be as brutal, complex and ideological as that which determined the direction of the British economy in the late-1970s and early 1980s.

The UK must also consider to what extent environmental considerations should influence the policy-making agenda. What is the role of government in terms of regulation, environmental compliance, bio-security and food trust? Alternatively, can a free-market, liberalisation agenda deliver wider social, political and environmental objectives as well as economic goals? Can the UK use its fledgling – and flourishing – agtech knowhow to raise productivity, build exports and deliver added value to the British economy?

The British government, budget pressures notwithstanding, has to ask whether a pound spent subsidising a marginal farm in the Pennines is better spent on developing world-class facilities across the technology and biosciences sectors. How many UK startups and early-stage companies fail to thrive because they lacked capital at a vital stage of their evolution?

There are other strategic considerations for the UK if it wishes its food and agriculture sector to prosper. A global imperative is: how do we feed a world of 10 billion people within a generation when its current needs are delivered by an army of unsophisticated and undercapitalised smallholders? We contend that the Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Department for International Development (DFID) need to shift their respective – and parallel – focuses on agriculture subsidies and development aid to collude with the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) to bring much of the UK’s technological, commercial, developmental and diplomatic ambitions in food and agriculture under a joint strategy.

This is relevant for the domestic landscape too. Britain has a large food deficit. The country needs to build its export capabilities and this is best done in commercial sectors where capital delivers the highest returns and creates the most economic value added. Subsidising agriculture may no longer make sense. The country needs to consider what are its best resources – whether technological, scientific or financial – and how best these can be combined. Such an assessment is hindered by many factors: the food and agriculture sector – excluding inputs, trading houses and the consumer end of the value chain – is notoriously fragmented. The most promising opportunities lie in the most awkward places to invest capital. An agricultural technology full of promise struggles to get funding, let alone access challenging new markets. In short, how do you get a world-beating piece of agtech into the likes of Africa or Asia ahead of your competitors?

The triggering of Article 50 by the British government on 29 March 2017 offers a strategic opportunity for the UK to eliminate agricultural subsidies after 2020 and refocus efforts on the promotion of value-added agricultural technologies. Make agricultural subsidies a thing of the past.

Test Fresh Produce’s Nitrate Content And Geiger Radiation At Home

Test Fresh Produce’s Nitrate Content And Geiger Radiation At Home

A new step in food safety. Chinese website Alibaba offers food counters that immediately measure the amount of nitrate in your fresh produce, and knows whether your food has been exposed to radioactive radiation. For approximately 100 dollar, you can own Greentest, the Portable High Quality Accuracy Food Detector.

Nitrate naturally occurs in vegetables. The nitrate content in vegetables is partly decided by the variety, but can also increase because large amounts of (artificial) fertiliser are used, or the product didn’t get enough sunlight during growing. The counter compares the amount of nitrate to the average amount in that type of fresh produce, and gives consumption recommendations: green is OK, yellow means you have to be careful and red is more than twice the amount allowed.

The more luxurious edition, Greentest Eco, has also been equipped with a Geiger counter, so that you can find out if your food is radioactive. 

Greentest, Portable High Quality High Accuracy Food Detector, Nitrate Tester for Fruit and Vegetable A high quality electronic product that can decrease the chances of getting a cancer. A sophisticated testing equipment that can keep you and your family away from the infringement of harmful pesticide residue, overfertilization, impurities, nitrates, nitrites and heavy metals pollution of soils.

Food safety

In China, food safety is an important topic for the growing middle class. After various food scandals, demand for safely produced food is increasing. The ads therefore mostly say: “Protect your family against unsafe food!” The Geiger counter also focuses on Japan, where there’s much attention on radioactive food, after the disaster with the nuclear reactor.

The products can be ordered globally through Alibaba. When ordering 500, they cost about 60 dollar per piece. Individually, they cost about twice that.

Order your nitrate and Geiger counter here.
 

Publication date: 5/30/2017

Kiss the Ground Releases The Compost Story With a Celebrity Cast

Kiss the Ground Releases The Compost Story With a Celebrity Cast

Created in collaboration with Elevate Films, Kiss the Ground has released The Compost Story, a 6-minute video about why compost is a regenerative solution for depleted lands. Kiss the Ground wants to educate people how to turn biodegradable waste into healthy soils. This process also works to reduce the effects of climate change. Combining a celebrity cast of Rosario Dawson, Amy Smart, Adrian Grenier, Paul Blackthorne, and Kendrick Sampson, this video invites people everywhere to see compost in a completely new light.

Kiss the Ground believes that compost is a regenerating, probiotic solution for depleted land. Compost could also play a major role in rebalancing the world’s carbon cycle. Turning polluting waste streams into a valuable resource is a win-win proposition, says Kiss the Ground.

This message is a follow-up to The Soil Story, a 5-minute video on how soil can sequester carbon from the atmosphere to balance the climate.

What is Urban Agriculture?

Welcome!

Are you interested in starting an urban farm?  Seeking details on how to raise backyard chickens and bees? Looking for information on laws, zoning and regulations that relate to urban agriculture? We offer resources on small-scale production, including soil, planting, irrigation, pest management, and harvesting, as well as information on the business of farming, such as how to market urban farm products. 

After you explore the site, please complete our survey! We’d like to know if you found what you were looking for and hear your suggestions.

Benefits of Urban Agriculture

Urban agriculture can positively impact communities in many ways. It can improve access to healthy food, promote community development, and create jobs. A number of cities in California, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego have recently updated municipal policies to facilitate urban agriculture, due to strong community interest. If you’d like to learn more about some documented impacts of urban agriculture, see Research.

Challenges of Urban Agriculture

Despite the benefits associated with urban agriculture, there are many challenges. Urban farmers routinely face issues related to zoning, soil, water access, and profitability, as a few examples. At the community level, noise and nuisance issues can come into play. This site is intended to share the research on both benefits and challenges, and best practices on how to address those as a farmer or local decision maker. 

Who We Are

UC ANR is part of the nation’s land grant university system, with more than a century of experience providing research-based knowledge to California farmers. This site offers resources that we’ve identified as most useful for urban farmers and local decision makers and stakeholders. Additionally, we are identifying gaps where resources need to be developed. Our team includes more than 15 experts, ranging from UC farm advisors, to agricultural economists, to urban planners and policy makers.

6 Reasons Local Food Systems Will Replace Our Industrial Model

6 Reasons Local Food Systems Will Replace Our Industrial Model

BY JOHN IKERD

September 28, 1958—A Sunday comic strip by Gene Fawcett envisions a future of farming in which “fat plants” and “meat beets” are used to cut down on the amount of farmland devoted to cattle pasture.   (Image: nextnature.net)

A local, community-based food system certainly is not a new idea. It’s simply an idea that is being reassessed in response to growing public concerns about the current global food system. When I was growing up in south Missouri in the 1940s and early 1950s, our family’s food system was essentially local. I would guess close to 90 percent of our food either came from our farm or was produced and processed within less than 50 miles of our home. There were local canneries, meat packers, and flour mills to supply grocery stores and restaurants with locally grown food products. Over the years, the local canneries, meat packers and flour mills were consolidated into the giant agribusiness operations that dominate today’s global food system. Supermarkets and fast-food chains replaced the mom-and-pop grocery stores and restaurants.

Today, I doubt there are many communities in the United States who get more than 10 percent of their foods from local sources, as official estimates put local foods at well less than 5 percent of total food sales. Estimates of the average distance that food travels from production to consumption within the United States range from 1200 to 1700 miles. More than 15 percent of the food sold in the United States is imported, with more than 50 percent of fruits and 20 percent of vegetables coming from other countries. More than 30 percent of U.S. farm income is derived from agricultural exports to other countries. The local food system of my childhood has been transformed into the global food system of today. Most of these changes took place during a 40-year period, between the late 1950s and the late 1990s.

Today, we are in the midst of another transformation.

The local food movement is the leading edge of a change that ultimately will transform the American food system from industrial/global to sustainable/local. Organic foods had been the leading edge of the movement, growing at a rate of 20 percent-plus per year from the early 1990s until the economic recession of 2008. Growth in organics sales have since stabilized at around 10 percent per year. The organic food market reached $43.3 billion in sales in 2015—more than 5 percent of the total U.S. food market. Today, organic fruits and vegetables claim more than 10 percent of their markets. As organic foods moved into mainstream food markets, many consumers turned to local farmers to ensure the integrity of their foods. The modern local food movement was born.

How we got here

To understand the local food movement, it’s important to understand the birth of the modern organic movement. The organic movement has its roots in the natural food movement of the early 1960s, which was a rejection of the industrialization of American agriculture. Following World War II, the mechanical and chemical technologies developed to support industrial warfare were adapted to support industrial agriculture. The “back to the earth” people decided to create their own food system. They produced their own food, bought food from each other, and formed the first cooperative food buying clubs and natural food stores.

Concerns about the health and environmental risks associated with the synthetic fertilizers and pesticides were not the only reasons they chose to grow foods organically. They were also creating and nurturing a sense of connectedness and commitment to taking care of each other and caring for the earth. The philosophy of organic farming was deeply embedded in their communities. To these food and farming pioneers, organic was as much a way of life as a way to produce food.

November 14, 1965—An illustration published by Athelstan Spilhauson speculating that synthetic food products would be needed to feed an ever-growing population. (Image: nextnature.net)

Organic farming and food production remained on the fringes of American society until the environmental movement expanded into mainstream society and science began to confirm the environmental and public health risks associated with a chemically-dependent, industrial agriculture. As organic foods grew in popularity, organics eventually moved into mainstream supermarkets. Except for restrictions on use of synthetic agrochemicals and food additives, organic foods then began to seem more and more like conventional industrial foods.

Consumers who were concerned about the ecological and societal consequences of industrial agriculture then began looking to local farmers to ensure the ecological and social integrity of their foods. Between 1994 and 2015, farmers markets increased in number from 1,755 to nearly 8,476. In the 2012 USDA Census of Agriculture, there were 12,000 CSAs (community supported agriculture) and an estimated 50,000 farmers selling direct to consumers by all means. Many farmers who use organic production practices don’t bother with organic certification. Their customers know and trust them to produce “good food.”

A more recent development in the local food movement has been the multiple-farm networks of local farmers. The networks may be food alliances, cooperative, collaboratives or food hubs. Grown Locally, Idaho’s Bounty, Viroqua Food Coop, Good Natured Family Farms and the Oklahoma Food Cooperative are examples of food networks of which I am personally aware. These alliances range in size from a couple dozen to a couple hundred farmers. The National Good Food Network lists more than 300 “food hubs”—although I cannot vouch for their success or authenticity.

Why local food is part of a larger movement that could actually “change everything”

The local food movement is so decentralized and dispersed that it is impossible to accurately estimate the size or importance of the movement. The USDA estimated the value of local food sales by farmers at $9 billion in 2015. This figure does not reflect the “retail value” of food sold by farmers to local restaurants or retailers. Virtually everywhere I go, I discover new local foods initiatives.

The local food movement also is so diverse that it is difficult to distinguish between those who are committed to ecological and social integrity and those who simply see local foods as another opportunity for profits. Food hubs are generally defined as organizations that allow farmers to aggregate their individual production to serve markets that are larger than they can serve alone. Admittedly, the future of the local food movement depends on being able to “scale up” to serve increasing numbers of consumers. However, if farmers compromise their ecological and social integrity in the process of scaling up, they will be little different from industrial farmers who are producing foods many of their customers are attempting to avoid.

For example, “The War on Big Food”, a recent Fortune Magazine article, begins: “Major packaged-food companies lost $4 billion in market share alone last year, as shoppers swerved to fresh and organic alternatives.” The article identifies artificial colors and flavors, preservatives, pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, and genetically modified organisms among growing consumer concerns. All of these concerns are linked directly or indirectly to industrial food production, including industrial agriculture. The organic movement at least attempts to address all of these concerns. The article explains how the giant food manufacturing and retailing corporations are trying to reposition their organizations to coopt the movement or at least to minimize their losses of market-share.

The local foods movement, however, represents an even greater challenge to the industrial status quo than the natural and organic food movements, even though organic obviously is a more meaningful label or descriptor than local. Industrial foods are local to someone, somewhere. However, most industrial farmers, meaning conventional commodity producers, know they can’t sell all, or even a significant part, of their total production locally. They are simply too large and too specialized. Large commodity producers must sell to industrial processors and distributors, which are likewise too large to rely on local markets. Large industrial organizations are inherently dependent on—and must compete in—“non-local” markets.

Sustainability, trust and the true cost of industrial food

According to market research, consumers are primarily motivated to buy local foods for reasons of freshness, flavor and nutrition. People have learned that shipped-in foods generally are not as fresh and flavorful, and are probably not as nutritious, as fresh-picked, locally-grown foods at farmers markets, CSAs and other local markets. Many people consider local foods to be safer because they are more likely to be produced organically, or at least without pesticides or GMOs. In the case of meat, milk, or eggs, hormones or antibiotics are more common concerns. Most farmers who sell locally understand the concerns of people who buy local foods and attempt to address concerns that are not being addressed by the industrial food system.

In return, people who buy local foods often mention their desire to support local farmers economically and to help build stronger local economies and communities. Estimates based on comparison of local and industrial food production in general indicate that foods grown for local markets contribute about four-times as many dollars to local economies as commodities grown for industrial food production. That said, the popularity of local foods and the incentives to produce local foods cannot be reduced to economics.

People tend to trust “their local farmers” to not only produce “good food” but also to be good neighbors, good community members and good stewards of the land. Some experts may question the importance of social, ecological, and unselfish economic motives for buying local. However, the fact that local foods clearly emerged in response to the perceived industrialization of organics suggests otherwise. Americans are trying to restore trust and confidence in “their food system” by “buying local.” For this reason and others, farmers motivated primarily by profits or economics are unlikely to be successful in local markets. Eventually, their customers will see their foods as little different from industrial foods and will value them accordingly.

Perhaps most important, the local food movement not only represents a rejection of industrial foods but also represents an emerging vision of a fundamentally better food system of the future. I can foresee a time when every community will have its own local, community-based food system. Communities will not be “self-sufficient” in food production, but will give priority to buying local foods from local farmers who give priority to local markets. They will give priority to those farmers who maintain personal relationships with their local customers through personally-connected economic transactions. In order to maintain relationships of trust and integrity, face-to-face contacts at farmers markets, on-farm sales, regular farm visits, or local food festivals will punctuate less-personal economic transactions. The primary objective of such community-based food systems would be to provide local assurance of quality and integrity, rooted in shared social and ethical values.

I believe this vision of a new and better food system is emerging from today’s local food networks—alliances, collaboratives, cooperatives, personally-connected food hubs and other innovative relationships. However, the skeptics may ask: would it actually be possible for a new local, community-based food system to replace our current corporately-controlled industrial food system? When I am asked this question, my answer consistently has been, yes. I am convinced such a change is possible, although I am not so naïve or idealistic as to think that the transformation will be quick or easy. Why do I believe such a change is possible?

Six reasons why local food systems will replace the corporation-controlled, industrial model

First, as mentioned previously, I have lived through the transition from the local, community-based food system of my youth to the industrial-global food system of today. The major part of that transition occurred within a span of about 40-50 years during the latter 1900s. I believe the new organic/local/sustainable food systems of farming and food production today are further advanced today than the industrial systems of farming and food production were during the early 1950s. I can still remember the steam engine lumbering by my grade school, moving from one thrashing location to another. This was early industrial agriculture. I can still remember my mother handing her “grocery list” to a person behind a counter at our country grocery store who would select the items on the list from shelves, barrels, and the meat case, weigh and package as needed, put the items in a “paper poke,” and total up our “grocery bill” for the week. There were no supermarkets. I saw my first fast food restaurant when I went to college—a McDonalds.

Second, there were far fewer good reasons to change the system of farming and food production back in those times than there are today. The main reason to change farming in the 1950s was to reduce the physical labor and drudgery of farm work and to free up farmers for jobs in the factories and offices of a growing industrial economy. Changes in food processing and distribution were designed to remove the drudgery of homemaking—making food preparation quicker and more convenient. Industrial agriculture was also meant to reduce costs of production, eliminating hunger by making “good food” affordable and accessible to everyone.

An unidentified comic published in 1963 depicting giant corn, robots and a gamma ray sprinkler on a futuristic farm. (Image: Google Images)

It was a noble experiment but it didn’t work. We have more people in the United States classified as “food insecure” than we had back in the 1960s. More than 20 percent of American children live in food-insecure homes. In addition the United States is plagued with an epidemic of diet related illnesses, such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and a variety of cancers. The industrial food system may have removed much of the drudgery of farming and homemaking, but it hasn’t eliminated hunger or malnutrition. I don’t want to belabor the point, but an industrial food system is not sustainable. Sustainability is the ability to meet the needs of the present without diminishing opportunities for the future. Industrial agriculture obviously has failed to meet the basic food needs of the present.

Industrial agriculture is also systematically diminishing opportunities for generations of the future, as it pollutes the environment, threatens public health, and depletes and degrades the natural and human resources that must support long-run agricultural productivity. The problems with industrial agriculture are systemic. They are ingrained in specialized, mechanized, large-scale, industrial system of production. Industrial systems gain their economic efficiency by employing fewer people at less pay, while externalizing environmental and social costs on nature and society. These problems cannot be addressed without fundamentally changing the system.

Third, we need not return to the drudgery of farming or homemaking of the past in order to make enough good food affordable and accessible to everyone. New scale-appropriate mechanical and electronic technologies offer new possibilities for ensuring “food security” without degrading the integrity of nature or society and without diminishing opportunities for those of the future. The basic concepts embodied in microcomputers, including laptops, tablets, and smart phones, are equally applicable to small-scale equipment for growing, tilling, harvesting, processing, and preparing healthful, nutritious foods. All that is needed now is the vision to see the potential and the incentive to create what is needed for a different future.

Meaningful work, technology and the next generation

Scale-appropriate technologies in farming include portable electric fencing, which has revolutionized the possibilities for sustainable small-scale humane, grass-based, and free-range livestock and poultry production. Walk-behind and small pull-behind tilling and harvesting equipment is reducing the drudgery, as well as costs, for small-scale organic, local, and direct marketers of produce and field crops. The markets for such technologies are growing with growth in the local food movement. Sales of “human scale” farming and marketing technologies are approaching the point where it will be economically attractive for more inventors and small-scale equipment manufacturers—using new technologies.

In my travels, I meet many young people who are choosing “human scale” farming as their way of life. I recently came across a blog piece on the National Young Farmers Coalition website. It begins: "You want to be a farmer? That’s great news because we need a lot more farmers! But there are some things you should know before diving in…” 

The author is a young farmer who has been farming with her partner in the Pacific Northwest for more than 10 years. She went on to name five things that anyone who wants to be a farmer should understand:  

1. Farming is really, really hard. (Let me stress that one more time….)

2. Farmers are not just farmers (They have to do a lot of other things.)  

3. Farming can be dangerous. (You can get hurt farming.)

4. It takes money to make money (particularly to get into farming).

5. It’s the best work you’ll ever do.

She writes: “Do you want to feel completely satisfied and fulfilled by your work? Lay your head down at night knowing you are doing something that helps the planet and your fellow humans? There is nothing more satisfying than providing a basic need: food. I love what I do, and wouldn’t trade it for anything—sore muscles, financial risks, and all.”

The future

It’s possible to make a good economic living on a “human scale” farm. At a recent conference in Toronto, Canada I met a young farm couple, Jean-Martin Fortier and his wife, Maude-Hélène Desroches. They gross more than $100,000 per acre on a 1.5 acre market garden with an operating margin of about 60 percent. They’ve been farming for more than a decade now, and today, Jean-Martin leaves most of the farming to Maude-Helene while he works on an educational farming project to help other young farmers learn how to make a good living pursuing their purpose or calling as farmers.

His new farming project, Ferme des Quatre-Temps, is designed to further demonstrate how “diversified small-scale farms, using regenerative and economically efficient agricultural practices, can produce a higher nutritional quality of food and more profitable farms.” Jean-Martin writes, “If there is one thing I’ve learned through all my years as a farmer, it’s that if we are going to change agriculture, it’s going to be one farm at a time. All we need is for more people to be willing to go out there and just do it.” 

An aerial photograph of La Ferme des Quatre-Temps—an agricultural project in Hemmingford, Quebec that aims to demonstrate what the farm of the future could look like. (Photo: La Ferme des Quatre-Temps)

With respect to taking the drudgery out of homemaking, prominent chefs are showing us that the most flavorful, nutritious foods typically require very basic and often-minimal preparation when they come directly from the fields and pastures of local farmers. In addition, affordable kitchen technologies are available to make basic food preparation far easier today than it was for my mother. More than 80 percent of the total dollars spent for foods in the United States does not go to pay for the food itself, but for processing, transportation, packaging, advertising, pre-preparation, and retailing.

We can’t eliminate hunger by making food cheap, but we can provide food security by making good, minimally processed, un-packaged, unadvertised, food available locally and helping people learn to select foods for nutrition and health and prepare food for themselves. People will find ways to spend quality time with their families preparing food from scratch once they understand the true costs of “quick, convenient, and cheap,” industrial foods.

Fourth, and perhaps most important, new digital technologies make it possible to develop and sustain meaningful, “personal” connections among farmers and others who share a common commitment to good, wholesome, delicious and nutritious, sustainably-produced foods. Obviously, digital communications can facilitate personal isolation; but email, texting, and tweeting can also help keep close personal friends in even closer personal contact. Digital technologies are already being used to create and sustain local, community-based food networks that give sustainable farmers access to far more local customers than they can stay connected with through farmers markets or CSAs. Equally important, these digital-based local food networks can help local eaters find and stay in contact with the full range of like-minded farmers who are committed to providing their local customers with sustainably produced foods.

I believe local community-based food networks of the future will include regular home deliveries—making local foods more convenient and accessible. The business of retail—including food—is changing fundamentally and rapidly. The total value of Amazon stock recently surpassed the total stock value of Walmart, although Walmart is still far larger in total retail sales. Virtually every major retailer, including food retailers, are scrambling to develop web-based markets. Food home-delivery programs—such as Blue Apron and Hello-Fresh—may be paving the way for local food system that at least include a home-delivery option. Local food networks would seem to have a natural economic advantage in local home delivery of locally grown foods. Supermarkets and restaurants that are committed to supporting their local communities will likely continue to have a significant role in local food networks of the future. However, the challenge will be to sustain a common sense of ecological and social integrity that comes from personal relationships of trust confidence.

"We need a sense that what we do matters, that it is right and good."

My fifth reason for believing a new and better food system is possible is that the local food movement is a part of a much larger movement that eventually will “change everything.” Hartman Group, a leading industry adviser on food and beverage market trends, recently identified 10 major trends in U.S. food retailing and found that, “Health, wellness and sustainability are starting to converge at the most progressive food retail and food service outlets. Consumers see the convergence as being all about mindfulness, integrity and authenticity.”

The good news is that the transformation in the food system is but a part, although an important part, of a transformation in society as a whole that is about mindfulness, integrity and authenticity. We are beginning to awaken to a wide range of symptoms of our unsustainable economy within our unsustainable society. As we respond to national and global challenges, such as natural resource depletion, climate change, dying oceans, species extinction, social injustice, and economic inequity we will create the environment for fundamental changes in our systems of farming and food production.

Growing public pressures eventually will bring about changes in public policies, including farm and food policies. Virtually every major farm policy and food policy of the past 50 years has promoted and supported the industrialization of American agriculture and globalization of the American food system. Simply removing such policies would represent a major step forward. With supportive public policies, the transition from global to local and industrial to sustainable could move from gradual to explosive. Replacing existing farm and food policies with policies supporting local foods and sustainable agriculture could go a long way toward “changing everything” in American food and farming.

I believe the motivation for farming and food production eventually must go beyond “food security” to “food sovereignty”—which includes treating food security as a “basic human right.” Communities need not wait for changes in federal policies. People in local communities can make a commitment to ensuring that everyone in the community has access to enough “good food” to support healthy, active lifestyles. I have suggested establishing “community food utilities” to provide the legal and physical infrastructure for local farmers to share a commitment with fellow community members to provide local food security—using local government to ensure the collective economic means of doing so. Personal relationships of trust among community networks could create national and global food networks sustained through shared social values and a common ethical commitment to meeting the needs of present and future—to sustainability.

This brings me to my final reason for believing a new sustainable future for farming and food production is possible. I believe that people are awakening to the need for the kinds of personal relationships and moral commitments that are being developed in local community-based food networks. There is a growing realization that the pursuit of material economic self-interest, including the quest for quick, cheap, convenient foods, has not brought us greater satisfaction or happiness. We are finally awakening to the fact that we are not only material beings but also social and moral beings.

Certainly we need the economic necessities of life—food, clothing, shelter, health care—things money can buy. But, we are also social beings and need relationships with other people for reasons that have nothing do with any economic value we may receive in return. We need to care and be cared for, to love and be loved. And, we are moral beings and need a sense of purpose and meaning in life. We need a sense that what we do matters, that it is right and good. Caring for the earth is not a sacrifice; it gives meaning to life—it matters. The creation of a new sustainable and local food system for the future, is not just about a better way to fuel the human body, it is also about feeding the human heart and soul. I believe the spiritual awakening that is driving the local food movement eventually will “change everything.” In this kind of awakening, there is always hope.

“The Status and Future of Local Foods" was originally published on JohnIkerd.com and is reposted on Rural America In These Times with permission from the author.